HF 599 (LSB 1133YH (1) 91)

HOUSE FILE 599

BY  DETERMANN

(COMPANION TO SF 11 BY LOFGREN)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to regional representation and residency requirements for members of the state transportation commission, and including effective date and applicability provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 307A.1A, subsection 1, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  a.  There is created a state transportation commission which shall consist of seven members, not more than four of whom shall be from the same political party. The governor shall appoint the members of the state transportation commission for a term of four years beginning at 12:01 a.m. on July 1 in the year of appointment and expiring at 12:00 midnight on June 30 in the year of expiration, subject to confirmation by the senate.  For each of the seven regions of the state, as designated by paragraph “b”, the governor shall appoint one member to represent the region, and the member shall reside in the region.
   b.  For purposes of this subsection, the state is divided into seven regions, which shall be composed of the following counties:
   (1)  Region 1 consists of Buena Vista, Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Franklin, Hamilton, Hardin, Humboldt, Ida, Kossuth, Lyon, O’Brien, Osceola, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Pocahontas, Sac, Sioux, Webster, Woodbury, and Wright counties.
   (2)  Region 2 consists of Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw, Fayette, Floyd, Grundy, Hancock, Howard, Mitchell, Winnebago, Winneshiek, and Worth counties.
   (3)  Region 3 consists of Allamakee, Clayton, Clinton, Delaware, Dubuque, Jackson, and Scott counties.
   (4)  Region 4 consists of Adair, Audubon, Carroll, Cass, Crawford, Fremont, Greene, Guthrie, Harrison, Mills, Monona, Pottawattamie, and Shelby counties.
   (5)  Region 5 consists of Boone, Dallas, Jasper, Madison, Mahaska, Marion, Marshall, Polk, Poweshiek, Story, Tama, and Warren counties.
   (6)  Region 6 consists of Benton, Cedar, Des Moines, Henry, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Lee, Linn, Louisa, and Muscatine counties.
   (7)  Region 7 consists of Adams, Appanoose, Clarke, Davis, Decatur, Jefferson, Keokuk, Lucas, Monroe, Montgomery, Page, Ringgold, Taylor, Union, Van Buren, Wapello, Washington, and Wayne counties.
    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  307A.9  Residency requirement —— resignation from office.
   A member of the commission appointed to represent a region of the state, as described in section 307A.1A, subsection 1, who no longer resides in the region shall be deemed to have resigned from the commission and the vacancy shall be filled as described in section 307A.4.
    Sec. 3.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
    Sec. 4.  APPLICABILITY AND TRANSITION.  This Act applies to members of the state transportation commission appointed and confirmed on or after the effective date of this Act. The first regular term appointment made on or after the effective date of this Act shall represent region 1. The second regular term appointment made on or after the effective date of this Act shall represent region 2. The third regular term appointment made on or after the effective date of this Act shall represent region 3. The fourth regular term appointment made on or after the effective date of this Act shall represent region 4. The fifth regular term appointment made on or after the effective date of this Act shall represent region 5. The sixth regular term appointment made on or after the effective date of this Act shall represent region 6. The seventh regular term appointment made on or after the effective date of this Act shall represent region 7.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   Under current law, the state transportation commission (STC) is charged with developing, coordinating, and annually updating a comprehensive transportation policy and plan for the state, among other duties.
   This bill requires that for each of the seven regions of the state, as designated by the bill, one member of the STC must be appointed to represent, and must reside in, each region. The bill divides the state into seven regions with each region consisting of certain adjoining counties.
   The bill provides that a member appointed to represent a region who no longer resides in the region shall be deemed to have resigned from the STC and the vacancy shall be filled as provided by current law.
   The bill takes effect upon enactment, applies to members of the STC appointed and confirmed on or after the effective date of the bill, and sets forth transition provisions.